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Combo
Andrew "Combo" Gascoingne is the main antagonist of This Is England and a supporting character in ´86, ´88 and ´90. He is portrayed by Stephen Graham. Characterization When first seen, Combo can easily be classified as a psychopathic racist, holding extremely racist views on immigration and being prone to violent outbursts of anger very easily. However, despite his flaws, it is hinted multiple times that Combo is fundamentally a good man and will stand up for his friends if the situation arises. Following the horrific events of the first film, Combo seems to be genuinely repentant of his actions and does his best to become a better man. Character History Before 1983 Little is known about Combo's life before the events of the original film. According to dialogue throughout the saga and behind the scenes, Combos father (who was of mixed race) left home when he was seven. He lived with his two little sisters and mother when his dad left home and was never seen again. when Combo was seventeen years old, he attempted to fight Lol's abusive father, Mick, for molesting her, but Mick beat Combo severely and left him in the street for dead. Lol found Combo and took him to the hospital. At some point, Combo and Lol got drunk and had a one night stand, Combo remaining in love with Lol from then on. Later on, in 1980, Combo and Woody got into trouble for unknown reasons and Combo ended up serving a three-year prison sentence, though he held no grudge towards Woody for it. While in prison, Combo got acquainted with fellow convict Banjo and the two became close friends, running their block after dealing with an abusive black prisoner who kept stealing Combo's dessert. This was the seed that gave life to Combo's racist and white nationalist views. 1983 Upon release in 1983, Combo (with Banjo in tow) returns to Woody and the gang at a party at Gadget's house, and is greeted warmly. Here, Combo meets Shaun, a new member of the skinhead group. However, tension starts to arise when Combo talks about the dessert-stealing black prisoner in front of Milky (Woody insinuates that Combo was slightly racist even before his sentence). The next morning, Combo invites the gang to his flat and attempts to take control of the group by giving them a long speech about immigration and the government's decision to hold the Falklands War, at which point Shaun grows angry and attempts to strike Combo, since his father died in the war. Combo takes advantage of Shaun's frustration and brainwashes him into thinking that fighting for his country against immigration will honour his father's memory. Combo even manages to set several members against Woody by reminding them about how many years ago he used to racially abuse Milky (something he appears to regret) and that nobody stood up for him, something Woody should have done. The only members who fall for Combo's speech are Shaun, Gadget, Pukey and Meggy, while Milky briefly becomes distant towards Woody but nevertheless stays in Woody's group. Combo takes his group to a National Front meeting and they sign up for the political party, but on the way back, Pukey expresses doubts over the group's racist views, prompting Combo to threaten him violently and send him back to Woody's group. Combo and the others then engage in racial antagonism, such as spraying racist remarks on walls with graffiti, threatening Indian boys playing football, and robbing Mr. Sandhu, a Pakistani shopkeeper who previously banned Shaun from his shop. Combo bonds with Shaun, who sees Combo as a father figure. However, things turn for the worse when Combo approaches Lol and admits his feelings for her. Lol, angry with Combo for hurting Woody's feelings, rejects him and tells him that their one night stand was the worst night of her life, even when Combo says it was the best night of his. Devastated, Combo approaches Milky, buys cannabis from him and invites him back to the flat in an attempt to forsake his racist views. While intoxicated, Combo and Milky bond, but Combo grows jealous of Milky's happy family life and starts to racially abuse him to provoke him into fighting. Milky merely smiles cheekily at Combo, who loses his temper and beats Milky unconscious over Shaun's protests. Combo angrily throws Shaun out of the flat for defending Milky, and turns his rage to Banjo by smashing a bottle onto the back of his head when he claims to want to hit Milky as well. Combo furiously orders both Banjo and Meggy out, and tends to Milky, only to see that he is apparently dead. Combo weeps in shame as Shaun comes back in to the room, and manages to convince him to help him get Milky to the hospital. Ashamed of his actions, Combo leaves town. 1986 Three years later, Combo arrives unexpectedly at Shaun's house one night, drunk and bloodied, and collapses on the living room floor. The next morning, Combo tells Shaun that he has returned because his mother is dying. Shaun and Smell take him to his mother's house, but see that she has already died. Combo takes a moment to pay his respects to his mother, and embraces Shaun as a friend, thanking him for his help. Later on, Combo decides to visit Lol at her house. He rings the bell several times, but there is no answer, so he looks through the living room window and sees Lol sobbing alone in a corner with Mick lying dead on the floor. Fully aware of what has happened and with nothing to lose, Combo alters the scene to make it look as though he fought and killed Mick in Lol's defence by smearing his fingerprints over the hammer Lol used to kill Mick, and injuring himself with Mick's hand. Subsequently, Combo is sent back to prison, this time for manslaughter, though with a clear conscience. 1988 Two years later, Combo is visited in prison by Lol. Looking back on her life over the past few years, Lol has realised that Combo was the only one who was ever truly there for her. She visits Combo to thank him and apologise for what she told him in 1983, and admits that she loves him (the exact nature of this love is not revealed). During the visit, Combo asks about Woody and Milky, and is shown a photograph of Lol's baby daughter Lisa (a result from an affair with Milky). Combo appears to be genuinely happy for Lol and does not make any racist remarks, hinting that he has abandoned his racist ways. Combo also tells Lol that he is changing his life for the better and continuing with his education by taking his GCEs. He is last seen in the final scenes spending Christmas alone in his cell, eating lunch while studying. 1990 With his parole hearing coming soon, Combo contacts Lol and asks for a place to stay for the time being, which Lol and Woody agree to, out of gratitude for Combo allowing Lol to avoid prison. They admit the truth about Mick's murder over lunch, along with the revelation that Combo will be moving in with them. Though most believe that Combo has changed for the better, Milky remains unconvinced and expresses anger at Woody and Lol's decision, referring to Combo as a "racist fucking cunt" who almost beat him to death. Though Milky eventually accepts their decision, he refuses to allow Lisa to share the same roof as Combo. Combo moves in with Woody and Lol and shares a tearful embrace with Woody, showing his guilt for what he did to Milky (as this is the first time Combo and Woody have seen each other after the former beat Milky) and symbolising Woody's forgiveness. He smokes and drinks with them, and openly inquires about Lisa, whom they say is spending time with Milky, though Combo still appears to believe that Milky does not want Lisa near him. Trivia *Combo has the tattoo of tears on his face. This means he has killed someone but it is unknown who. He also has a tattoo of a spider in the center of his neck. *Combo is seen having violent outbursts and intrapersonal communicating. This is probably some sort of mental health issue. *During promotion for This Is England '86, the first fact that Shane Meadows confirmed was that Combo would return, though Combo did not appear until the end of the third episode, only being mentioned during the first two. Meadows stated in an interview that he deliberately coincided Combo's return with the scene of Mick raping Trev in order to create more anticipation for the series' finale, since it was already known that Combo would play a part in the final confrontation with Mick. Category:Main Characters Category:English Nationalist Group